


Masked Madness

by grapemonkey



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Backstory, Gen, takes place in Another Story route
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-17
Updated: 2017-09-18
Packaged: 2018-12-30 20:02:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12116190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grapemonkey/pseuds/grapemonkey
Summary: A collection of drabbles where we take a visit in the minds of the characters and shed some light as to how they ended up with the decisions they made.In Chapter 2, we dwell on the true beginnings of Ray's 'love'.





	1. Masked Madness

**Author's Note:**

> I'm very much deep in the rabbit hole that is Mystic Messenger, and one of my biggest questions would be why MC so easily gave her trust to strangers in all routes... Does she have no sense of self-preservation? Or could there be a more sinister reason? So here's a possible backstory of why MC is the way she is.

It's been four days since she was brought to this strange place with strange rules.

Four days since she curiously gave her trust to a stranger without a face and without a name. The memory made her giggle.

She wondered how people would react if they knew what she had just done. Her father could consider this the last straw and finally disown her. Her friends would definitely think she'd gone crazy and never talk to her again. The members of RFA, if they were real–

 _Ah, but they were_.

After that first day, she was convinced that the people she had been talking to in that messenger were not AIs and were, in fact, real people.

Yoosung was too energetic to be an AI.

Zen was too narcissistic to be an AI.

Jaehee was too responsible to be an AI.

Jumin was too pragmatic to be an AI.

Seven was too spontaneous to be an AI.

And V was too secretive to be an AI.

Her kind host, Ray, which happened to be the developer of the app, had told her repeatedly that they all were programmed with those specific traits to make messaging more immersive.

But getting to know each of them in the past few days had made her see not just traits but actual personalities behind each conversation they had.

All these should've had made her suspicious and run for the opposite direction, but she chose not to give up this reality.

She could almost hear everyone lecturing her, ridiculing her, ostracizing her...

Funny thing is it wouldn't be any different from the life she led before she stumbled upon the mysterious messenger. If it could be called a life at all.

It was just the same routine everyday, with the same people and the same conversations, the same disappointments and the same problems. Her world revolved around hurt and isolation and being misunderstood.

 _To be whisked away to this reality, twisted though it might be, is a dream_.

Ever since coming to this place and opening up to these strangers, she started to feel... significant. An unexplainable but pleasant warmth had started to creep into her heart, and it only grew as she stayed longer in here.

Ray. Oh, Ray. She wished he would spend more time with her. His promises of paradise and happiness, of holding each other and forever, she would grab at it all. No one has ever been so devoted to her before.

 _More_.

But V... he was willing to sacrifice himself just to save her. She had never felt so important before.

Zen and Jaehee, it made her happy when they were pleased at her support for their interests. She had never felt so appreciated before.

 _I want more_.

Yoosung seemed to always find a way to make things more interesting because of his youthful innocence. She had never laughed this much before.

Jumin's astute assessments on certain situations amazed her. Even more so when he took the time to share new knowledge with her. No one had ever paid attention to her curiosity before.

 _I want everything_.

Seven. Luciel. Was that even his real name? Behind the facade of his happy exterior, she wanted to know who he really is. His name. His true self. What he thought of her. She had never been this determined to uncover a mystery before.

...

But today it seemed like she needed to make a choice. She was confused. Why did she need to choose? Why couldn't they go on like how they did in the last four days? They were _happy_.

Ray took her hand in his, letting her feel the bottle with the strange blue liquid.

"It's okay," Ray said gently. "No need to hesitate. You're not alone. And I'll no longer be alone as well... once you drink this."

_Why can't I have everything?_


	2. Unhidden Desire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She didn't know it yet, but Ray's love for her began far, far before their fateful first meeting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoop, I was not expecting this chapter to come so soon, but it just had to be done. Because next to my big question of why MC so easily trusted a stranger, I also wanted--needed to know why, of the many people in the world, had Ray chosen MC. So here I bring to you all the scenario that just won't leave my head.

“How are the preparations going?”

“Complete, my Savior.” Ray smiled sweetly at his Savior. “Are you sure you have to leave? The operation will be executed tomorrow and I want you to see it.”

The smile the Savior returned to him was so serene Ray almost wanted to cry. He didn’t know what he had done to deserve her salvation, but he was so happy that someone like her extended her hand to someone like him. And everyone else in this paradise. They were all saved by her when they all thought they were beyond redemption.

“It’s only two days, Ray,” she laughed. “And I am confident in your skills. You were born for this so I trust you to fulfill this without errors.”

Ray shook his head. “No, my Savior. All this would not be possible if not for your generosity.”

A soft hand against his cheek.

“I will be back in two days.”

Ray had just seen off the Savior, and although he was a bit sad that she wouldn’t be there to guide him, a different kind of anticipation was welling inside him.

Because finally, _finally_ it was time.

He’d worked hard in the last six months for his biggest task yet—the infiltration of RFA. He spearheaded this project and meticulously planned every single detail of the operation. He’d made sure nothing was out of place, otherwise even a single mistake could compromise the whole plan. He couldn’t risk getting discovered by the redhead…

But just when everything was done and perfect and ready to be executed, he saw _her_.

He had been in the city then, silently monitoring his people for the critical mission of acquiring the ‘testers’ for the game. His information team had spent months identifying potential candidates to take over the role of RFA coordinator, and the people they were taking that day still had to undergo different tests at Magenta in order to make sure that they were the person for the important role.

Ray was incognito in the busy streets keeping his eyes and ears on everything, when he saw her inside a small coffee shop. At first his gaze just swept past her as he was checking his surroundings, but then his eyes found her again and what he saw next had him completely fixated on her.

The girl seemed to be looking at… nothing. As he looked more closely into her eyes, he saw absolutely _nothing_. For a few minutes he just observed her, curious to see if she would show any hint of emotion at all. And she didn’t disappoint because what happened next confused the hell out of him.

A boy was crying inside the coffee shop and right when the girl heard him, she went to him straight away. From where Ray stood, he could clearly see how with a few words she was able to calm the boy down and was now staring at her with a huge, trusting grin. Like everything was fine now because she said so… but still, the emptiness had never left her eyes.

His heart immediately yearned for the girl to be saved, to be taken to paradise and know only happiness… but did she really need it?

Ray knew emotions, knew that they were seen through a person’s eyes, and he’d never seen such emptiness before. He knew hurt and isolation and fear, and those very things are what made people need happiness. But what she showed the boy was genuine care. He was confused. How was she capable of such sincere kindness despite the hollowness she must feel inside?

And there he decided that she was the one. He… wanted her kindness all to himself. He wanted her to look at him alone and be embraced by her words. He _needed_ to keep her.

Ray had then ordered that his team abort the mission to collect the candidates and that he would be the one to take care of it. Because it had to be her. He’d accept no one else.

Two weeks was enough. He only needed two weeks to make her come to him. He’d also make sure that this was the very spot where she would accept his invitation to her new home.

So right there, in front of the coffee shop, he started working. Connecting to her phone through the public wifi was child’s play. He only needed her name, then he’d work on the rest once he was back at his office.

For two weeks Ray had just focused on finding out everything about the girl, her background, daily routine, he even went as far as to constantly monitor what she was doing at all times. Knowing all these things about her, it made him even more excited for when the day comes that he finally meet her.

And now the wait was over. Tomorrow she would be in that coffee shop at the same time, and Ray would have programmed her phone so that she’d have to download the messenger herself.

Tomorrow she would finally come home to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been thinking about this for a few days as well, however what really prompted me to write it is one of the prologue bad ends where you just ignore Ray's calls. I won't elaborate anymore just in case some people don't want to be spoiled, but it's in the Wiki in case you wanted to know.
> 
> Lately I've just been obsessing over what-ifs ever since starting with V's route, and I think one of the reasons why is because since we're focused on the big picture right now, I was able to see each of the characters in a neutral light (as opposed to having a biased side when going to the other members' routes). So everything that's going to be in this series will be set in Another Story's universe.


End file.
